Fleming applauds passage of legislation to implement evidence-based reading programs in schools: Bill heads to governor’s desk
Rep. Justin Fleming October 10, 2024 | 3:33 PM
HARRISBURG, Oct. 10 – State Rep. Justin Fleming, D-Dauphin, applauded the Senate’s unanimous final passage yesterday of S.B. 801 that mirrors his H.B. 998, which will implement evidence-based reading programs in schools to help students improve their reading proficiency and make learning in other disciplines easier.
According to Fleming, Pennsylvania is amid an educational crisis with nearly half of its fourth graders reading below their grade level. The reasons are due to many factors, including inequitable educational opportunities, but the long-term impact is the same: currently, one in five American adults struggles with reading basic sentences, and as a result, find it difficult to do basic tasks like read the mail, complete tax forms, or even engage in civic duties.
Senate Bill 801 will provide a tested solution to this societal dilemma by allowing school districts to pursue an evidence-based curriculum called the Science of Reading to help enhance literacy among students, particularly in grades K-4.
“We know the Science of Reading works because the state of Mississippi, which once ranked 49th in the country for fourth-grade literacy, enacted this program and several years later ranked 21st,” Fleming said.
Fleming explained his drive to improve reading instruction in Pennsylvania as a legislator.
“It’s not just my work as a long-time child advocate supporting efforts to improve reading instruction in Pennsylvania that drove me to introduce H.B. 998 and support S.B. 801,” Fleming said. “It’s my experience with my daughter being identified with reading difficulty early and receiving the proper intervention that she needed at a critical period in her intellectual development that made me want to ensure that other children across the commonwealth have the informed guidance that would enable them to overcome obstacles and succeed.”
The legislation presents a three-stage approach: first, with evidence-based reading curricula, literacy instruction will be improved to ensure literacy achievement for children across the commonwealth. Second, through a universal screening in the first 30 days of school, struggling readers will be identified. Finally, the screening data will be used to design and implement intervention plans to prevent children from falling behind. These steps will put the necessary supports in place and put all children on the path to reading proficiently by the third grade.
School districts can use existing grant funding to select a vendor, purchase curriculum, and invest in professional development to help students improve phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary and reading comprehension.
Fleming stressed that mastery of reading is fundamental to a child’s educational and career achievements.
“The ability to read is foundational to our ability to learn properly,” Fleming said. “You need to read to succeed in history or solve a word problem in math, so the sooner we can improve this skill for our kids, the more successful they will become.
“Literacy is the great equalizer, and is the foundation of a flourishing democracy,” Fleming said. “In a time of increasing inequality, we must ensure that all our children have this basic skill. By doing so, we’ll empower our communities to flourish economically, culturally and socially. Literacy is for all, and thankfully we can look to decades of cognitive science on how to achieve this goal.
“I applaud the passage of this critical legislation.”
The bill now heads to the governor’s desk.